Some of optical units mounted on portable terminals or mobile units have a mechanism that swings or rotates an optical element to correct a shake in order to restrain disturbance of a photographed image on the move of the portable terminals or the mobile units. For example, an optical unit disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-082072 includes a swing mechanism (swinging magnetic-drive mechanism) that swings an optical module provided with an optical element in a pitching direction and a yawing direction responding to shakes in the two directions of pitching (vertical shake/tilting) and yawing (horizontal shake/panning). Further, the optical unit also includes a rolling correction mechanism (rolling magnetic-drive mechanism) that rotates a movable body provided with the optical module and the swinging magnetic-drive mechanism around an optical axis responding to the rotation of the optical element around the optical axis.
In the optical unit of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-082072, a rotary bearing, such as a ball bearing, is used as a support mechanism for rotatably supporting the optical module around the optical axis. The rotary bearing is disposed on an end part on one side (image side) in the optical axis direction of the optical module. When the optical module is supported by a cantilever structure in this manner, the optical module may be tilted. Further, backlash may not be prevented when the optical module rotates in the rolling direction. For example, when a ball bearing is used as the rotary bearing, a sufficient pressure cannot be applied, which may result in backlash of balls between an inner ring and an outer ring of the ball bearing. Accordingly, the backlash of the optical module may not be prevented. Further, there is also another problem in that the ball bearing is easy to break by a drop impact.
Further, FIG. 11 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2015-082072 illustrates a support structure that includes an elastic pivot part disposed on an end part on one side (image side) in the optical axis direction of the optical module and a ball bearing disposed on an end part on the other side (subject side) in the optical axis direction. Although such a support structure is not a cantilever structure, the optical module may be tilted around the pivot part. Thus, the backlash of the optical module may not be prevented.